


unfinished

by darkartifices



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Happy Ending, Post-Calamity, Pre-Calamity, Short, Zelink Month 2018, zelink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 11:49:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15581337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkartifices/pseuds/darkartifices
Summary: May I ask... Do you really remember me?in which Zelda receives a response. written for day 5 of zelink month 2018.





	unfinished

**Author's Note:**

> i pretty much typed this up on a whim yesterday because i knew i wanted to write something for zelink month, so apologies if there are any mistakes. enjoy!
> 
> posted on tumblr as well: @lord-of-shadows

“Our story is not yet finished, Link.” Zelda stood inside a room with ancient Sheikah designs coating the walls, her figure hovering over a platform filled with luminous blue liquid that nearly submerged Link’s entire body. It was only a few hours after he had fallen, Zelda having rushed to Impa in Kakariko Village directly after the Sheikahs who found them carried Link away. She determined her course of action then, deciding that she must return the Master Sword to the forest and face her fate with Ganon alone. However, her heart called to see Link once more, to remind herself that he is safe, that he will recover in time. She knew it was foolish, but she needed this hope to keep her strong, for she knew the mission she was to undergo will be anything but short and tranquil.

“We will see each other again, that I am sure of. Truth be told, I am not sure how long that will be...or if you will be the same when you wake. But whatever happens, know that I _will_ wait for you. Always.”

She knew he probably couldn’t hear her, but she needed to say the words anyway. After one last look at his face—as if she was trying to memorize the way his hair fell over his eyes, the way sleep rendered his body to relax, his features to smooth—she whispered, “This isn’t goodbye,” and turned, looking behind her once to see the doors of the shrine close and a vibrant blue light flowing through the intricate patterns to signal it was locked in stasis. Zelda let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding and gazed back out at her kingdom, at the malicious black storm thundering over the castle, her _home_ , and she tightened her grip on the Master Sword.

_This is not the end, Ganon. I am coming._

* * *

It was a little over a hundred years later, and Zelda stood on the soft grass in Hyrule Field, the sunlight warming her body––a feeling she graciously welcomed after a century trapped in darkness. Her ceremonial prayer dress was in tatters, dirt stains still scattered over her body, but Zelda couldn’t bring herself to care. She was corporeal once again, and she relished the feeling, breathing in the scent of the new air around her.

Hyrule was different. The general landscape was the same, but villages and posts that were once there were now in ruins, and the population had suffered a great loss. She needed to rebuild her kingdom. _But not now,_ she thought. Right now, Ganon had just been sealed away, and now that she was back in her body, she felt the exhaustion in her bones at full force. Exerting her power for so long had drained not only her physical form but her mind as well, but she willed herself to remain upright––she was not done yet.

She heard footsteps behind her, ones that she knew all too well, but even though he looked the same, _sounded_ the same, she knew his mind was not.

But her heart ached to see the man she once loved again, so she turned, and the question had slipped from her lips before she even had the chance to reflect on what she said.

_May I ask… Do you really remember me?_

She knew it was fruitless. He only had the memories she left on the Slate to guide him, and even then, those were _her_ memories. He had none of his own, no recollection of the person he was before, and to know that it was all her fault he died and had no choice but to save Hyrule once he recovered, she had no right to ask him that.

She saw emotions flash through his face––if she hadn’t known him so well, she knew she would have missed them––and his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Zelda felt disappointment crawl into her features, and she tried to mask it––she had no right to be upset. She knew the answer the moment she uttered the question.

But then Link closed his eyes as if trying to _remember_ , and she heard him whisper almost inaudibly, “Princess.”

Her heart nearly pummeled. She opened her mouth, but before she could respond, he was speaking once more. “Zelda,” his voice was louder this time, and her breath caught. “You are Zelda… And you waited. For me.”

She felt tears brimming her eyes, and she blinked several times to clear her vision. She looked at him with a hopeful gaze, nodding her head slightly. “Yes, Link,” she whispered. “I did.”

“And now… We can finally finish our story.”

She gasped. So he  _had_ heard her. Tears were trickling down her cheeks now, but she didn’t care--Link _remembered_. Her face broke into a smile, and she began to run to him––and was met halfway by his enveloping embrace. She held on tight, allowing the tears to spill, and she knew she would face Ganon all over again for this moment, to be able to hold Link once more.

“ _Yes_ ,” she said when they broke apart, her hands still on his shoulders, their faces inches apart. The full magnitude of how much she had missed him finally weighed in, and she felt her grip tighten. “Yes, we can.”


End file.
